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Gay Old Times ... 2009

Forty years after the uprising at the Village's Stonewall gay bar that
sparked the modern gay-rights movement, New York's LGBT nightlife is
fairly robust  still anchored in downtown Manhattan, but with an
impressive array of options in the other boroughs. There are venues for Chelsea muscle boys, Billyburg alterna-queers, hyperlipsticked lesbians  and a good handful of spots where those types and more crawl all over each other. Even Staten Island's getting its first gay bar in years!

Club Gorilla: The Big Banana The Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. nr. Broadway; 212-219-3006Gays Gone Wild–style new Saturday-night party co-hosted by Josh Wood and longtime bad boy Jonny McGovern. Could be the party of the summer.

The Cock 29 Second Ave. nr. 2nd St.; thecockbar.com
Late-night dive with great D.J.'s, trashy go-go boys, and ample debauchery moved here after a notorious seven-year run (1998-2005) on Avenue A and 12th St. "Lives up to its legend," says Peter Hemmel of gay party guide HX. "The place to take out-of-town guests, where you never know what's gonna happen." "Don't go before 2 a.m.," says Moylan, "because it's not worth it." (On same block as the glossier gay bars DTox and the Urge, making this the closest the E.V. has to a gay strip.)

The Phoenix447 East 13th St. at Ave A; 212-477-9979
Flaming-red-brick exterior encases popular, down-to-earth gay pub with cheap draft beer, pool table, and a juke that, on any given night, will spout early Madonna, MGMT, Morrissey, and the Supremes. Wednesday nights packed with a young, arty, brainy lit-type crowd. Where fashion-y bears meet working stiffs.

Beige at B Bar40 East 4th St. at Bowery; 212-254-7536
Fourteen years in, the Tuesday-night B Bar bash is still the weekly court gathering of gay New York's pose-y, under-40 fashion/media/finance axis. Always sprinkled with major and minor stars, recently including (and according to its promoter Erich Conrad) Rupert Everett, Calvin Klein, Steven Klein, Katy Perry, and Lady GaGa.

The Stonewall Inn53 Christopher St. at Seventh Ave. S.; 212-488-2705
After closing three months after the 1969 Stonewall uprising, this site housed various businesses until it was reopened in the nineties as a gay bar under its old name, then closed and reopened again in recent years. Hosts the popular "Stonewall Sensation" singing competition on Wednesdays. The last Thursday of the month features Jell-O shots and women's Jell-O wrestling, and Fridays is another girl party, Lesbo-A-Go-Go.

EdenWednesdays at Country Club, 248 W. 14th St. nr. Eighth Ave.
Super-hot high-femme weekly lesbian party, two years running. The Top Chef girls, like Josie Smith-Malave, hang out here. Won lesbian mag GO's "Sexiest Vibe" award in '08. "It's sweaty in all the right ways," says editor and publisher Amy Lesser. "A babefest."

Cubbyhole

(Photo: Shanna Ravindra)

The Cubby Hole281 W. 12th St. at W. 4th St; 212-243-9041; cubbyholebar.com
Super-friendly corner lesbian bar with digital (read: anything you want!) jukebox and tons of weird toys and stuff hanging from the ceiling. "You'll see every type of dyke," says a regular, "from mullet-wearing, fanny-pack Birkenstockers to the ultrachic to the rockers." Also loved by gayboys and straight folks; recent sightings include James Gandolfini and his wife, says a bartender.